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5
December 2016
Enough is enough puzzle
i
still recall how Louw Steytler (previous chairperson of
Grain SA) repeatedly in meetings reminded us of Advocate
George Bizos’ words: ‘The centre will hold!”
South Africa experienced extraordinary times during Oc-
tober/November 2016 and new history was made – about
which our grandchildren will one day have to learn and on
which they will have to take exams. The Centre has made it per-
fectly clear: ‘Enough is enough!’
Advocate Thuli Madonsela at last presented us with the picture of
the puzzle we have been trying to build over these last few years.
It is as if even the legal community attended the same meeting and
as if they in one voice, started singing: Enough is enough! Even at
the Annual Meeting of the African Farmers’ Association of South
Africa (AFASA) I listened to our black producers taking Ministers
to task about the poor service delivered to producers and no help
from them during the drought. Enough is enough, they said.
Another big and new turning point was when the AFASA Con-
gress gave Annette Steyn (the DA Shadow Minister of Agri-
culture, Forestry and Fisheries) the floor during the congress to
reply to the question of what was going to happen to their farms,
which currently belong to the state, after 2019. It was an extremely
meaningful question. Steyn assured them that in such a scenar-
io they will receive the title deeds to their farms so that they can
farm. She knows that one cannot farm without security.
Another lesson I learned that day was to be where the producers
are and to patiently sit through a congress until your big oppor-
tunity arrives. Too many Ministers tend to deliver speeches and
to depart immediately afterward for more important matters than
those discussed by producers during congresses.
I wonder what could be so important? I was so impressed with
what transpired at the AFASA Congress that day that Preline Swart
(vice-chairperson of Grain SA) and I joined the march of AFASA
members to the Union Building the next day to ask the President
of the country to give title deeds to producers so that they can farm.
Yes, he was not there. He was most likely busy with legal pre-
parations for that which awaited him and his friends in the ensuing
days. I do not know about our President, but it appears as if he and
his friends misread the ‘enough is enough’ temperature.
Standing up for that which is right and good is a noteworthy event.
It united people across all borders. The last time a President unit-
ed us as a country, was Nelson Mandela during the Rugby World
Cup Final in 2007. Never would we have imagined that President
Jacob Zuma could ever unite us about anything – this time he is
the reason.
At one stage I allowed myself to dream a while about how the
agricultural sector could look and function if it was lead and served
by the right, knowledgeable people. Man, that was a good feeling!
All we need is for someone to put together all the pieces of the
puzzle to illustrate the picture which has been formed over the last
couple of years.
That is what leaders do. Show people a picture of a better future
and they follow eagerly and enthusiastically. December definitely
is a time when God also showed us His picture of redemption
– Jesus. He, through His birth, came to show us how He redeems
the world. Let us then use the time effectively to ponder on His
picture and to better understand all the small loose pieces of the
puzzle forming around us.